Historic failure: the whole country was without light due to a failure of the interconnection

Sunday morning chaotic for the avenue porteña Corrientes. With the rain and without traffic lights, they have complicated traffic, vehicles and pedestrians / afp

A power outage that left millions of people without electricity in Argentina and Uruguay after a failure of the two countries' interconnected grid could have triggered even greater chaos without a day off, but in between. Celebrate Father's Day, in addition to intense rainfall.

The government, which described the event as a "historic" and unprecedented event, announced that it would investigate the effects of the country's total blackout – in the case of our region, where it complicates everyday life, see pages 9, 10 and 11 -. It has been attributed to a failure in the transmission of electricity and has also been found in parts of Paraguay and southern Brazil, although only half an hour has been reported.

There were still no figures last night on the losses that caused the unprecedented and prolonged power outage, but are estimated in millions.

By the afternoon, the lighting department had resumed activity in much of the country, where more than 44 million people live, and in Uruguay, with about four million inhabitants. 100% of the electrical energy had been restored towards the night.

The blackout also occurred during the election of governors in several provinces, in the dark, voters illuminating with the cell phone. In many cities – also in La Plata – traffic lights or street lighting did not work and social networks multiplied urban images without electricity. Some residents said they did not remember a mbadive blackout that affected several countries at once and was clbadified as historic by official sources.

"This failure is neither abnormal nor extraordinary.What is abnormal or extraordinary, and should not happen, is the chain of subsequent events, which caused the total disconnection," said the Argentine secretary at the 39th. Energy, Gustavo Lopetegui, at a press conference. He explained that total disconnection occurs automatically via computers when they detect imbalances that can cause greater damage.

Earlier, President Mauricio Macri had reported the reduction "due to a failure of the coastal transport system, the causes of which we can not yet pinpoint." We are working so that everyone can have energy as quickly as possible. "

The authorities are still investigating the case, which will only be known with precision after an investigation of a duration of at least 15 days and can be extended by 20 days. Although a cyber attack is not excluded, this is unlikely, said Lopetegui.

"This is an extraordinary event that should never have happened.Beyond what has happened in other countries, the Argentine system is today a very robust system, with excess capacity, both in production and in transport, "he said.

Juan Alberto Luchilo, Undersecretary of the Secretary of Energy's Energy Market, has described the power cut of "historical" in statements on Argentine television Todo Noticias, and has attributed the problem to the failure of a stretch of transportation system providing electricity Brazil to Argentina.

Paradoxically, the failure occurred at a time of weak demand, ie when the fragility and instability of the system are greater, he explained. "It's a pretty complex problem."

At LAS 7:07

The Energy Secretary had reported that at 7:07, the Argentine interconnection system (SADI) had collapsed, causing a mbadive power outage throughout the country and also affecting the country. 39; Uruguay.

"The breakdown of the network at the origin of the breakdown at the national level is due to an electricity transmission connection between the Yacyretá and Salto Grande power plants, on the Argentine coast," the company said. Electricity Edesur. "This activated the power plant protections, which broke down and caused the blackout."

The southern region of Tierra del Fuego has not been touched because it is not connected to the national grid.

"I started working at age 8 and there was no light, it's a cut in almost the whole country," AP driver Silvio Ubermann told AFP. 51 year old taxi driver. "Since we are on Sunday and the traffic is low, the problem has been reduced.If it was a weekday, it would have been chaotic, because there would have been no school, I have never seen anything like it. "

The authorities have asked sick people requiring electrical appliances to go to the nearest hospital to take advantage of the existence of independent light generators.

In Uruguay, opinions have also been published in this regard, after Montevideo plunged into darkness. Later, service began to be restored in some areas.